I Messed Up Yesterday

Let's face it, I make mistakes every day. Yesterday at Kindergarten Graduation was no different. I was lucky to be able to address the large crowd for about two minutes. I thanked our teachers, staff, and administrators. That was a no-brainer. They're awesome! I thanked the parents of our students for sharing their children with us. That was easy.

I messed up by not hitting hard enough a couple of points I wanted to really emphasize. I told the parents and grandparents in attendance that even though our teachers and staff are amazing that parents and grandparents will ALWAYS be their children's most important teachers and advocates. I then kind of tailed off instead of hitting that again and again and again.

Parents and Grandparents are the most important people in the lives of young people. Being a parent is the toughest job in the world. Parents simply need to spend TIME with their children. Read with your kids. Let your kids help you cook. Go fishing together. Sit on the front porch and talk to each other. Play cards. PUT YOUR CELL PHONES AWAY. Watch a movie together. Go on a walk.

Too often, we think our love for our kids is measured in how much money we spend on them. It's not. The most important thing you can do with children is spend your TIME. Play catch. Work on a crossword puzzle together. Just be together.

A school year consists of about 13% of the hours in a 365-day year. That's not a typo. Do the math. A typical school year is about 1,125 hours of time in our classrooms. There are 8,760 hours in a year. Our students/kids are OUT of our classrooms for 87% of the year. Parents, grandparents, and family are the ultimate role models of their children.

To all parents and grandparents...embrace the opportunities and challenges you have to help your child each and every day.

Our kids grow up too fast....it seems like just yesterday I attended Kindergarten Graduation of my oldest daughter. On June 10th, I will walk her down the aisle as she gets married. Time flies. Enjoy your children!